Koda Kumi – LAST ANGEL feat. Tohoshinki

November 19, 2007 at 1:44 PM | Posted in Koda Kumi | 2 Comments
Tags: collaborations, singles

Tracklisting
1. LAST ANGEL feat. Tohoshinki
    (LAST ANGEL feat. 東方神起)
2. Dear Family
3. LAST ANGEL feat. Tohoshinki (Instrumental)
4. Dear Family (Instrumental)

This is Koda Kumi’s 38th single and it was released on November 7, 2007. The single reached #3 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold 88,369 copies. The title track was used as the theme song for the Japanese release of the movie Resident Evil: Extinction.

There was one huge thing about LAST ANGEL feat. Tohoshinki that kept me from enjoying the song. You guessed it; it’s the Korean boy band Tohoshinki (they go by like 3 other names but they are known as Tohoshinki in Japan) that performs the song with Koda Kumi. Their solo parts irritated me because of strained, over emphasized vocals and their voices clashed horribly with Kumi’s. She gives a good performance in her own right, but I couldn’t help but dislike the song more and more everytime I tried to listen to it. As for music, it’s very good and perhaps the only redeeming quality of the song. The various uses of synth and light beats are nicely done. Even though it’ll probably never happen, I hope for a solo version of this song by Kumi.

The B-side is the somewhat better Dear Family (since Tohoshinki isn’t in it XD). It’s a gentle R&B styled song with mild beats and background strings. Kumi’s vocals are very nice and controlled, a highlight of the track. She really lets out the gentle, sophisticated side of her voice throughout the entire song and I applaud her for doing so. It’s not a bad B-side at all.

Overall Rating

2 stars